Kevin WarwickFIET, FCGI, (born 9 February 1954) is a British engineer and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Coventry University in the United Kingdom.[6] He is known for his studies on direct interfaces between computer systems and the human nervous system, and has also done research concerning robotics.[7][8]

Artificial intelligence

Warwick directed an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council funded research project which investigated the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence techniques to suitably stimulate and translate patterns of electrical activity from living cultured neural networks to use the networks for the control of mobile robots.[18] Hence a biological brain actually provided the behaviour process for each robot.

Previously Warwick helped develop genetic algorithm named Gershwyn, which was able to exhibit creativity in producing popular songs, learning what makes a successful record by listening to examples of previous successful songs.[19] Gershwyn appeared on BBC's Tomorrow's World having been successfully used to mix music for Manus, a group consisting of the four younger brothers of Elvis Costello.

Another Warwick project involving artificial intelligence was the robot head, Morgui. The head contained 5 senses (vision, sound, infrared, ultrasound and radar) and was used to investigate sensor data fusion. The head was X-rated by the University of Reading Research and Ethics Committee due to its image storage capabilities – anyone under the age of 18 who wished to interact with the robot had to obtain parental approval.[20]

Warwick has very outspoken opinions about the future, particularly with respect to artificial intelligence and its effect on the human species, and argues that humanity will need to use technology to enhance itself to avoid being overtaken by machines.[21] He states that many human limitations, such as sensorimotor abilities, can be outperformed by machines, and is on record as saying that he wants to gain these abilities: "There is no way I want to stay a mere human."[22]

Bioethics

Warwick directed the University of Reading team in a number of European Community projects such as FIDIS researching the future of identity, ETHICBOTS and RoboLaw which considered the ethical aspects of robots and cyborgs.[23]

Deep brain stimulation

Along with Tipu Aziz and his team at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, and John Stein of the University of Oxford, Warwick is helping to design the next generation of deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease.[28] Instead of stimulating the brain all the time, the goal is for the device to predict when stimulation is needed and to apply the signals prior to any tremors occurring to stop them before they even start.[29] Recent results have also shown that it is possible to identify different types of Parkinson's Disease.[30]

Public awareness

Warwick has directed a number of projects intended to excite schoolchildren about the technology with which he is involved. During 2000 he received the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Millennium Award for his Schools Robot League. During 2007, 16 school teams were involved in designing a humanoid robot to dance and then complete an assault course—- a final competition being performed at the Science Museum, London. The project, entitled 'Androids Advance' was funded by EPSRC and was presented as a news item by Chinese television.[31]

During 2005 Warwick was congratulated for his work in attracting students to science by members of parliament in the United Kingdom in an Early day motion for making the subject interesting and relevant so that more students will want to develop a career in science.[34]

Cyborg-type systems need to be not only homeostatic (meaning that they are able to preserve stable internal conditions in various environments) but adaptive, if they are to survive. Testing the claims of Varela and Maturana via synthetic devices is the more serious concern in the discussion about Warwick and those involved in similar research. "Pulling the plug" on independent devices cannot be as simple as it appears, for if the device displays sufficient intelligence and assumes a diagnostic and prognostic stature, we may ultimately one day be forced to decide between what it could be telling us as counterintuitive (but correct) and our impulse to disconnect because of our limited and "intuitive" perceptions.

Warwick's robots seemed to have exhibited behaviour not anticipated by the research, one such robot "committing suicide" because it could not cope with its environment.[37] In a more complex setting, it may be asked whether a "natural selection" may be possible, neural networks being the major operative.

The 1999 edition of the Guinness Book of Records recorded that Warwick performed the first robot learning experiment by Internet. One robot, with an artificial neural network brain in Reading, UK, learnt how to move around. It then taught, via the Internet, another robot in SUNY Buffalo New York State, USA, to behave the same way. The robot in the US was therefore not taught or programmed by a human, but rather by another robot based on what it itself had learnt.[38]

Hissing Sid was a robot cat which Warwick took on a British Council lecture tour of Russia, it being presented in lectures at such places as Moscow State University. Sid, which was put together as a student project, got its name from the noise made by the pneumatic actuators used to drive its legs when walking. The robot also appeared on BBC TV's Blue Peter but became better known when it was refused a ticket by British Airways on the grounds that they did not allow animals in the cabin.[39]

Warwick was also responsible for a robotic "magic chair" (based on the SCARA-form UMI RTX[40] arm) which Sir Jimmy Savile used on BBC TV's Jim'll Fix It. The chair provided Jim with tea and stored Jim'll Fix It badges for him to hand out to guests.[41] Warwick appeared on the programme himself for a Fix it involving robots.[32]

Warwick was also involved in the development of the "seven dwarves" robots, a version of which was sold in kit form as "Cybot" on the cover of Real Robots magazine.

Project Cyborg

Probably the most famous research undertaken by Warwick (and the origin of the nickname, "Captain Cyborg",[2][3][4] given to him by The Register) is the set of experiments known as Project Cyborg, in which he had an array implanted into his arm, with the goal of "becoming a cyborg".[42]

The first stage of this research, which began on 24 August 1998, involved a simple RFID transmitter being implanted beneath Warwick's skin, which was used to control doors, lights, heaters, and other computer-controlled devices based on his proximity.[43] The main purpose of this experiment was said to be to test the limits of what the body would accept, and how easy it would be to receive a meaningful signal from the microprocessor.[44]

The second stage involved a more complex neural interface which was designed and built especially for the experiment by Dr. Mark Gasson and his team at the University of Reading. This device consisted of a BrainGate electrode array, connected to an external "gauntlet" that housed supporting electronics. It was implanted on 14 March 2002, in the Radcliffe Infirmary and was interfaced directly into Warwick's nervous system. The electrode array inserted contained 100 electrodes, of which 25 could be accessed at any one time, whereas the median nerve which it monitored carries many times that number of signals. The experiment proved successful, and the signal produced was detailed enough that a robot arm developed by Warwick's colleague, Dr Peter Kyberd, was able to mimic the actions of Warwick's own arm.[45]

A highly publicised extension to the experiment, in which a simpler array was implanted into the arm of Warwick's wife—with the ultimate aim of one day creating a form of telepathy or empathy using the Internet to communicate the signal from afar—was also successful in-so-far as it resulted in the first direct and purely electronic communication between the nervous systems of two humans.[47] Finally, the effect of the implant on Warwick's hand function was measured using the University of Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP).[48] It was feared that directly interfacing with the nervous system might cause some form of damage or interference, but no measurable effect nor rejection was found. Indeed, nerve tissue grew around the electrode array, enclosing the sensor.[49]

Implications of Project Cyborg

Warwick and his colleagues claim that the Project Cyborg research could result in new medical tools for treating patients with damage to the nervous system, as well as assisting the more ambitious enhancements Warwick advocates. Some transhumanists even speculate that similar technologies could be used for technology-facilitated telepathy.[50]

Tracking Device

A controversy began during August 2002, shortly after the Soham murders, when Warwick reportedly offered to implant a tracking device into an 11-year-old girl as an anti-abduction measure. The plan produced a mixed reaction, with endorsement from many worried parents but ethical concerns from children's societies.[51] As a result, the idea did not go ahead.

Anti-theft RFID chips are common in jewellery or clothing in some Latin American countries due to a high abduction rate,[52] and the company VeriChip announced plans during 2001 to expand its line of available medical information implants,[53] to be GPS trackable when combined with a separate GPS device.[54][55]

Turing Test

Warwick participated as a Turing Interrogator, on two occasions, judging machines in the 2001 and 2006 Loebner Prize competitions, platforms for an 'imitation game' as devised by Alan Turing. The 2001 Prize, held at the Science Museum in London, featured Turing's 'jury service' or one-to-one Turing tests and was won by A.L.I.C.E. The 2006 contest staged parallel-paired Turing tests at University College London and was won by Rollo Carpenter. He co-organised the 2008 Loebner Prize at the University of Reading; a report on the contest's 'theatre of two Turing tests' can be found here.[56]

During 2012 he co-organized, with Huma Shah, a series of Turing tests held at Bletchley Park. The tests strictly adhered to the statements made by Alan Turing in his papers, according to Warwick. Warwick himself participated with the tests as a hidden human.[57] Results of the tests were discussed in a number of academic papers.[58][59] One paper, entitled “Human Misidentification in Turing Tests”, became one of the top 3 most downloaded papers in the Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence.

During June 2014 Warwick helped Shah stage a series of Turing tests to mark the 60th anniversary of Alan Turing's death. The event was performed at the Royal Society, London. Warwick regarded the winning chatbot, "Eugene Goostman", as having "passed the Turing test for the first time" by fooling a third of the event's judges into not making the right identification, and termed this a "milestone".[60] A paper including all of the transcripts involving Eugene Goostman entitled "Can Machines Think? A Report on Turing Test Experiments at the Royal Society", has also become one of the top 3 most downloaded papers in the Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence.[61]

Warwick was criticized in association with the Turing tests performed during 2014 at the Royal Society, where he claimed that software program Eugene Goostman had passed the Turing test on the basis of its performance. The software successfully convinced over 30% of judges who could not identify it as being a machine, on the basis of a five-minute text chat. Critics stated that the software's claim to be a young non-native speaker weakened the spirit of the test, as any grammatical and semantic inconsistencies could be excused as a consequence of limited English proficiency.[62][63][64][65] Some critics also claimed that the software's performance had been exceeded by other programs in the past.[62][63] However the 2014 tests were completely unrestricted in terms of topics of discussion whereas the previous tests referred to by the critics had very restricted/specific subject areas. Additionally, Warwick was criticized by editor and entrepreneur Mike Masnick for exaggerating its significance to the press.[63]

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

When Warwick presented the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures entitled The Rise of Robots in the year 2000, the lectures were well received by some.[68] However, in a letter Simon Colton complained about the choice of Warwick, prior to his appearance. He claimed that Warwick is not a spokesman for our subject (Artificial Intelligence) and allowing him influence through the Christmas lectures is a danger to the public perception of science.[69] Due to Warwick's claims that computers could be creative, Colton, who is a Reader in Computational Creativity, also said the AI community has done real science to reclaim words such as creativity and emotion which they claim computers will never have.[70] Subsequent letters were generally positive; Ralph Rayner wrote With my youngest son, I attended all of the lectures and found them balanced and thought-provoking. They were not sensationalist. I applaud Warwick for his lectures.[71]

Critiques

Warwick has both his critics and endorsers, some of whom describe him as a "maverick", whereas others see his work as "not very scientific" and more like "entertainment". Conversely some regard him as "an extraordinarily creative experimenter", his presentations as "awesome" and his work as "profound".[92][93][94]

Publications

Warwick has written several books, articles and papers. A selection of his books:

By means of the implant, Warwick's nervous system was connected onto the Internet in Columbia University, New York. From there he was able to control the robot arm in the University of Reading and to obtain feedback from sensors in the finger tips. He also successfully connected ultrasonic sensors on a baseball cap and experienced a form of extra sensory input.[45]

Warwick, K. and Shah, H., Can Machines Think? A Report on Turing Test Experiments at the Royal Society, Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence, DOI:10.1080/0952813X.2015.1055826, 2015

https://www.buzzfeed.com/kellyoakes/no-a-computer-did-not-just-pass-the-turing-test No, A Computer Did Not Just Pass The Turing Test

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140609/07284327524/no-supercomputer-did-not-pass-turing-test-first-time-everyone-should-know-better.shtml No, A 'Supercomputer' Did NOT Pass The Turing Test For The First Time And Everyone Should Know Better